Southern California residents have lived under the shadow of "The Big One" for as long as they lived here. Everyone knows that living in California brings the potential for a massive 7.0+ earthquake, but many of us still haven't prepared our homes.
That's why the California Earthquake Authority and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services have partnered up to help promoted the "Earthquake Brace and Bolt" program, in which qualifying homeowners can receive up to $3,000 for an earthquake retrofit of their home.
iHeartRadio's Tom Romano was joined by California Earthquake Authority Executive Director Janiele Maffei to talk about Earthquake preparedness and how to protect your house and your family through California's Brace and Bolt Program!
In the podcast, Maffei explains what the EBB program is about, and how homeowners can qualify.
"Earthquake Brace and Bolt is an incentive program. The program provides up to $3,000 to homeowners who complete a code-compliant retrofit with a permit, if they're in qualifying zip codes in California and they show us all the documentation."
"The qualifying houses is going to be a house that's built before 1979. The house has to have a raised, continuous perimeter concrete foundation. It must sit on a level ground, or low slope lot. And have wood-framed walls called 'crippled walls' around the crawl space under the house."
The brace and bolt retrofit reinforces cripple wall by strengthening it by adding anchor bolts in the crawl space to prevent the home from sliding off its foundation. The bracing is done by adding plywood to the cripple walls to help stiffen them, and prevent the home from collapsing.
Homeowners can sign up for the program at https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/.
Since the consequences of an improperly done retrofit can be catastrophic, the state-supported program offers homeowners the chance to ensure the retrofit work is done right.
Check and see if your house is included in the program by seeing if your zip code is included below:
Albany 94706
Berkeley 94702, 94703,
94704, 94705, 94707, 94708,
94709, 94710
Burlingame/Hillsborough
94010
Daly City/Colma 94014,
94015
El Cerrito 94530
Emeryville 94608
Eureka 95501, 95503
Hayward 94541, 94542,
94544, 94545
Los Gatos 95030, 95032,
95033
Millbrae 94030
Oakland 94601, 94602,
94603, 94605, 94606, 94607,
94609, 94612, 94618, 94619,
94621
Piedmont 94610, 94611
Redwood City 94061, 94062,
94063, 94065
San Bruno 94066
San Carlos 94070
San Francisco 94102, 94103,
94107, 94108, 94109, 94110,
94112, 94114, 94115, 94116,
94117, 94118, 94121, 94122,
94123, 94124, 94127, 94131,
94132, 94133, 94134
San Leandro 94577, 94578,
94579
San Lorenzo 94580
San Mateo 94401, 94402,
94403, 94404
Watsonville 95076
Woodside 94061, 94062
Alhambra 91801, 91803
Altadena 91001
Claremont 91711
Colton 92324
Fillmore 93015
Glendale 91201, 91202,
91203, 91204, 91205, 91206,
91207, 91208, 91210
Granada Hills 91344
La Crescenta 91214
La Verne 91750
Los Angeles 90004, 90005,
90006, 90011, 90012, 90014,
90015, 90016, 90017, 90018,
90019, 90020, 90021, 90022,
90023, 90024, 90025, 90026,
90027, 90028, 90029, 90031,
90032, 90033, 90035, 90036,
90037, 90038, 90039, 90041,
90042, 90043, 90046, 90048,
90049, 90057, 90063, 90064,
90065, 90068, 91601, 91604
Mission Hills 91345
Monrovia 91016
Pasadena 91101, 91103,
91104, 91105, 91106, 91107
Redlands 92346, 92354,
92359, 92373, 92374
San Bernardino 92401,
92404, 92405, 92407, 92408,
92410, 92411, 92415
San Fernando 91340, 91344,
91345
San Gabriel 91775, 91776
San Marino 91108
Santa Barbara/Montecito
93101, 93103, 93105, 93108,
93109, 93110, 93111, 93117
Santa Monica 90401, 90402,
90403, 90404, 90405
Santa Paula 93060
Sierra Madre 91024
South Pasadena 91030
Sun Valley 91352
Valley Village 91607
West Hollywood 90046,
90048, 90069